Monday, March 23, 1998 Published at 19:31 GMTFrance no longer battling US over Africa

In embarking on a high-profile tour of Africa, President Clinton is asserting the United States' interest in a part of the world which France has long viewed as its own sphere of influence.

Officials in Paris are usually quick to describe any American initiative in Africa as an attempt to throw the French out, but Mr Clinton's trip has not drawn such criticism from France.

BBC Analyst Henri Astier asks if the Franco-American rivalry in Africa is over.

Most cities in French-speaking Africa have an unmistakably Gallic air about them: the tree-lined boulevards, the outdoor cafes, the ubiquitous baguettes are signs that links with the former colonial power remain strong.

Until recently, governments in Paris behaved as if independence had never happened. French money kept mismanaged economies afloat, and bought allegiance from friendly governments.

And just as resisting the "Anglo-Saxons" (i.e the Americans) is a perennial concern of French officialdom, curbing US influence has traditionnally been a cornerstone of France's African policy.

In recent years old Africa hands in Paris were appalled when Ugandan-backed guerrillas overthrew French proteges in Rwanda and Zaire: many felt that Washington - through President Museveni of Uganda - was casting its net across mineral-rich central Africa.

So why, given this age-old sense of rivalry, do the French view Mr Clinton's African tour with relative equanimity?

France lets go

One reason is that the new Socialist government is Paris wants to present a more modern image by insisting it doesn't believe in spheres of influence.

"French predominance over Africa is no more credible than America predominance over Latin America," the French defence minister, Alain Richard, recently said.

But this new attitude has deeper roots than a change of government. Since the early 1990s - under both conservative and left-wing governments - France has slowly normalised relations with its former colonies.